No reason to distrust Pakistan so early: Indian Home Minister

INDIA: Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh stated there was no reason to distrust Pakistan when it said it would take stringent action against those responsible for Pathankot incident.

The Pathankot incident might have attempted to derail India and Pakistan talks but it seems like India is willing to trust arch-rivals and neighbouring country Pakistan. In a statement, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said there was no reason to distrust Pakistan so early on, when it had assured India that it would take action against the perpetrators of the Pathankot incident.

“There is no reason to distrust them [Pakistan] so early,” he said. “The Pakistan government has said it will take effective action. I think we should wait,” he added.

After the attack that had taken place at the Indian Air Force base some 25 kilometers from the border with Pakistan, India had provided Pakistan with leads and intelligence-based evidence. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had assured his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi of Pakistan’s cooperation in probing the incident and taking action.

Yesterday, Pakistani authorities picked up several suspects from South Punjab based on evidence provided by India. According to sources, New Delhi had provided Islamabad with phone numbers as evidence. The evidence suggested that the perpetrators of Pathankot attack had made calls on numbers originating in Bahawalpur. Pakistani authorities had traced the numbers and picked up the suspects.

It should be borne in mind the United Jihad Council (UJC) had claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, India had placed blame on banned outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad. Talks between both countries, which were in danger of being jeopardised, will be held according to schedule. This has been confirmed by both Pakistan’s Sartaj Aziz and India’s Ajit Doval.